Layla Tarazi was born in the Old City of Jerusalem in 1934. She studied at Schmidt College for Girls and graduated from it in 1957. She was an educational, social and feminist activist who worked with several institutions such as the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) and the General Union of Palestinian Women. She was known for her fight against settlement expansion in the old neighborhoods of Jerusalem after 1967. She died in Jerusalem in 2018.

The Layla Tarazi Collection consists of rare and valuable photographs and documents, which reflect her societal, political and educational activity over decades, along with the features of those stages in Palestine, in general, and in Jerusalem, in particular. By studying these photographs and documents, one can trace the development of Palestinian society in those periods, and learn about the features of dress and societal culture in Jerusalem, as well as about education, its methods, and the educational institutions that emerged during those periods. They also show the development of education and human rights and political feminist activity, which has become an integral part of the Palestinian movement. Therefore, the Layla Tarazi Collection is an important source for social and historical studies concerned with political and social developments in Palestine over the 20th century.